Monster Hunter Tri Part I: Where Waters Meet
by ZaleAcon
Summary: Kev, Vail, and Ray are the children of the world's most famous monster hunters. When they try to live up to their parents' legacy, will they be able to save the people of Moga Village from destruction? Part 1 of 3. Rated for violence.
1. Enter the Isle

**(Revised)**

**One day, while I was playing Monster Hunter Tri, I was thinking that there should be a fanfiction about three monster hunters. (Get it? Monster Hunter Tri? Hahaha...) Anyway, I hope that you enjoy my story!**

**Note: This is NOT going to be just another "Monster Hunter Tri" story fanfic. This fanfiction is going to have many different twists to it, as well as more plot because of three characters.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Monster Hunter, Monster Hunter II, Monster Hunter III, or any other game with the term "Monster Hunter" in the title.**

* * *

><p><em><span>Chapter 1: Enter the Isle<span>_

"C'mon, bro!" Shouted a voice in my ear, "We're at the island!"

I opened my eyes, slowly, and looked at the interior of our cabin.

"We're here, Kev!" Shouted the voice again.

I yawned, and rolled over on the bed. How could he have woken me up now? I was having the most vivid dream.

"Kev! Do you _want _to shame our parents?" Asked a different voice. _That _snapped me awake.

I stood up to be greeted by my younger brother, Ray, and my older sister, Vail.

"Good," Vail said, "You're up."

"Please don't bring up our parents in your arguments, okay?" I asked. Our parents had been expert hunters, who disappeared one day when they went off into the desert after... something.

She nodded, "Sure," she said.

Ray grinned, "Right now, though, we have more important things to worry about."

"Like what?" I asked.

"We've reached Moga Village!" Vail said, "Have you forgotten _already_?"

It all came flooding back to me. We-my siblings and I-had just recently become licensed monster hunters. We decided to travel to Moga Village so we could get stronger, before finally heading to Loc Lac City.

My name is Kerivane, or Kev, for short. I'm a monster hunter. That's right, a monster hunter. Surprisingly enough, me and my siblings, Valiance (or Vail, as we call her) and Radiance (Ray), were only kids when we'd signed up to be monster hunters. Currently, Vail is seventeen, and Ray and I are both fifteen (we're fraternal twins).

"Geez, Kev!" Ray said, "This is a really big thing! I mean, it's not every day that _children _become licensed monster hunters."

"We're not children," I said, placing my hands behind my head, "We're _teenagers_, remember?"

"Well," Vail smirked, "It doesn't matter much, right?" She placed her right hand around the large, iron greatsword strapped to her back. A staple among beginning hunters, "After all, a hunter's a hunter, right?"

I shrugged, and rubbed some sleep out of my eyes. To begin with, the guild had given the three of us each our own weapon based off of a poll we'd taken. I was given a Hunter's Knife, Vail was given an Iron Sword, and Ray was given an Iron Hammer.

Of course, the weapons that we'd been given coordinated with our personalities. For example, Ray was mischievous, but could deliver crushing blows quickly and decisively. Vail was strong and brave, which was what got her a strong, deadly weapon, like the hammer. Me? My weapon reflected my want to get into battle, and then promptly escape.

Yeah, I'm not brave like my sister, or resourceful like my brother, but I still had some talents that many people do not know about. For instance, I'm rather quick, and I'm a good strategist.

Oh, and I can communicate with monsters.

Anyway, as Vail, Ray, and I walked off the boat onto the island, the entire village began to shake horribly. I'm not an expert on earthquakes, but I can honestly say that this one would probably rank around a seven or an eight on the seismic charts.

But that's not the point.

The entire village was shaking horribly, and, for a moment, I'd thought that Moga Village had no chance at surviving the quake. I feared that the village, made of wood, would break apart and float out to sea.

Thankfully, my fears were proved false.

The village stayed intact, but still, I knew that this island was suffering from many earthquakes recently. Of course, it was now that we'd come here, wasn't it? We just _had_ to be sent off to this village in a time of crisis.

But, I digress.

As we walked over to the center of the small village, we found ourselves standing in a crowd of villagers. The chief, an old man in a cloak, looked up at us and grinned.

"Ah, here we are," he said, "It took all of you long enough to get here!"

"Sorry..." I said.

"Oh, I'm just joking," the chief said, jovially, "After all, we're all glad to see that you're finally here!"

Vail smiled, feeling at ease, "Well, it's nice to finally get here," she said, "My brothers and I have been anxious to go hunting!"

I yawned, still tired.

"As I was saying," my sister said, quickly reverting the subject, "My brothers and I are very excited to start hunting monsters."

"Well," the chief said, "You couldn't have come at a better time! What with the Lagiacrus and all..."

Ray gasped at this, "A Lagiacrus? Those things are extremely dangerous! How do you expect us, newbie hunters, to kill it?"

"Well, er, I mean..." the chief stammered, "You're not expected to kill it yet. No, not for a while. First, you need to get stronger! And to do _that_, you need to complete missions!"

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry," Ray said apologetically, "I just get really worked up when I hear about monsters, especially the dangerous kind! Like Barioth! Or Uragaan! Or-"

"Anyway," Vail said, "We're here to help you guys out, so, uh, what is it that you want us to do right now?"

"Now?" Asked the chief, "Well, my son, we call him Junior, went off into the Moga Woods recently. Do you think you could go find him? It'll give you a good start to our island's layout."

"Sure," I said. I stifled a yawn, "We'd be glad to find your son."

"Thanks," the chief said, "He'll probably be hangin' around the base camp, or, rather, what's left of it."

"Alright," I said, "C'mon, Vail, Ray, let's go."

And with that, our tale begins...

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this chapter (or even if you didn't, passing it off as just another "Monster Hunter Tri" offline mode story), then I recommend that you read the other chapters, too, so that you'll actually know what you're reading before you give up on it. Thank you!<strong>

**Please leave your review in the box below (or not, but I'd really like to know how this story is.)**


	2. Moga Woods

**Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter Tri, or any Monster Hunter games. Property of the Monster Hunter license belongs to Capcom. Give credit where it is due.**

* * *

><p><em><span>Chapter 2: Moga Woods<span>_

"Okay!" Vail said, confidently, "Let's get to finding the chief's son, so that we can get on to some _real_ missions!"

"Well, technically," I said, "This _is _a real mission. We're going out of Moga Village, we're looking for a quarry, and we're getting _paid_," I yawned, still tired, "Seems like a real mission to me."

"Well, I meant a _Guild _mission," she countered, "Like, hunting monsters, or searching for items."

I shrugged, "Well, the sooner we finish this, the sooner the Guild will be sending us real missions, right?"

Ray grabbed the hilt of his hammer, "And the sooner we get those weaker missions done, we'll be able to fight those more dangerous foes," he said, "Imagine! Fighting a Lagiacrus in its underwater habitat! It would be amazing!" He was caught up in one of his "Big Monster Obsession" phases again.

Here's something you need to know about Ray: he's got an _insane_ obsession with hunting monsters. Ever since our parents took him out on a hunt with them when he was eight, he's wanted nothing more than to hunt a gigantic, dangerous beast that they would be proud of. After they'd disappeared one year later, his obsession grew worse, until he couldn't even write the form for becoming a monster hunter without ranting for two pages of what he wanted to hunt, why he wanted to hunt it, and what he would do with the materials.

"Ray!" Vail reprimanded, "You need to stop jumping into your 'obsession' phases! It's starting to creep me out, and I'm sure that the people of the village don't need to hear you going on about how Diablos marrow works as an adhesive!"

"But, Diablos marrow is amazing! If it wasn't for it, we wouldn't be able to-"

"Great job, Vail," I muttered, "Now, this quest has gone from painful to unbearable!"

She didn't even bother to tell me that it wasn't a real quest this time.

"Sorry," she murmured.

After listening for about five minutes to Ray going on about his hypothesis that Diablos marrow is used to stick the creature's bones together (don't even ask where he thought of such a thing), we finally reached Area 3 of Moga Woods. There, in front of us, were five dinosaur-like creatures of various sizes. Aptonoth.

"Well," I said, "Looks like we've found some good monsters to hunt, right, guys?" I looked at Vail and Ray.

"I dunno," Ray said, "I mean, Aptonoth?"

"Well, every hunter's gotta start somewhere, right?" I asked, "I mean, our parents started on Aptonoth too. It seems kinda fitting, don't you think?"

"Well, if you put it that way..." Vail said, thinking. She flashed me a smile as she pulled the Iron Sword from its sheath and pointed it at the unlucky monsters. "Let's begin, shall we?"

Ray pulled out the Iron Hammer and smashed it into one of the large Aptonoth, "We'll start small, and work our way up to those big monsters, like-"

"Hold that thought!" I shouted, pulling my sword out. I leapt forward, and stabbed the biggest Aptonoth straight through. I pulled the blade out, watching as blood flowed from the wound on the monster's side. It was dead within seconds.

It was, actually, quite amazing that I'd been able to kill that Aptonoth. As I said before, I can communicate with monsters. Not with words, but with feelings. I can feel their fear, sorrow, anger, joy... all of their emotions. It makes killing them extremely difficult, to tell you the truth.

Kind of ironic that I became a monster hunter, right? Well, not really. I learned of this power when I was eight. My parents took me-not my brother or my sister, for once-out on a hunting quest. They'd wanted me to deal the final blow to our quarry, a Great Jaggi.

At the time, I'd been so excited that I couldn't think. But, as soon as I'd raised Mom's Long Sword above my head to deal the final blow, I felt the Great Jaggi's fear of death, worry for its tribe, and its hatred of me. After I felt all of these emotions swirling around my mind, I'd fallen out of consciousness. Nine hours later, I awoke at a hospital in Loc Lac, with my mom and dad looking terrified, and my brother and sister crying beside me. That was the only time I've ever seen Vail cry.

Looking back on the memory now, it makes me kind of sad. To think that only one year later, my parents would vanish without a trace. Not even the Guildmaster would tell us what had happened.

"Hey, Kev!" Ray shouted, "Aren't you gonna carve your Aptonoth?"

"Oh, sorry!" I said, reaching for my carving knife. I stabbed it into the monsters side, and carved some raw meat out of it.

"There," I said, holding the piece of raw meat in front of me.

Vail and Ray were staring at me oddly, "What?" I asked them.

"Are you alright, Kev?" Vail asked, "I mean, not wanting to carve a monster?"

"It's not that I didn't want to carve it!" I protested, "I just got caught up in some of my old memories."

"Do you want to know what I want to be remembered for?" Ray asked.

"No!" Vail and I shouted simultaneously.

"Well," Ray said, angrily, "You don't have to be so mean about it."

"Anyway," I said, changing the subject, "The chief said that his son was around here somewhere, right?"

"Yeah," Vail agreed, "He said that he would likely be in the base camp, I think."

We went over to the base camp, which was conveniently close to Area 3.

"Hey," I said, "It looks like there's someone over there!"

"Maybe he's the chief's son?" Ray asked.

"Well, there's only one way we'll find out," I replied, walking over to him. "Excuse me?" I said. The man turned around.

"Yes?" He asked us.

"Are you the chief's son?" I asked him.

"That's me," the man said, "What of it?"

"The chief sent us out here to find you," Vail explained, "He wanted us to take you back to the village."

The man laughed, "Well, that's fine, I guess," he said, "I came out here to inspect the damage dealt by the earthquake that happened earlier. Of course, you can see what's happened around here, right?"

"Yeah," I said, "It sure is terrible." I sighed, "How are we gonna go on quests with the base camp all but destroyed?"

"Well," he said, "You'll all need to help gather materials to fix this place up, but that's not why you're here now, right? My old man sent you to find me, you said?"

"That's right," Ray answered, "We're here to find you so that you can go back to the village."

"I have a question, though," Vail said, "Why are you out here in these rui-er, our base camp?"

"Good question," the chief's son said, "Well, this is your base camp. Was. Is... okay, so I'm not completely sure about that part. But it _was_ where we left all of the necessary items for a base camp, and when the earthquake struck... well, just look around. I'm sure you can see that the earthquake wasn't, well, very kind to the place." He shrugged.

"So, we'll need to fix it up, won't we?" I asked him, "Otherwise, we won't be able to hunt here?"

"That's what I'm sayin'," he answered, "But, uh, before I head back to the village, do you have anything I can eat? I'm so hungry that I could eat an entire Aptonoth! I'm pretty great at barbecuing, so if you have any raw meat, I'll take it from there."

I fished into my pocket and pulled the piece of raw meat from the Aptonoth out. "Here," I said, "I'm not too sure that I can hold onto this thing, anyway." After all, it came from a living creature, and you know all about _that_.

The chief's son snatched it up, greedily. "Alright," he said, "I'm heading back to the village. You guys... take a look around Moga Woods. Gather resources, hunt monsters, the works. Come back to the village later, and I'll tell you how you can help restore the base camp."

With that, he walked away leaving us standing in the ruins of the base camp.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, there you have it. What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Notice any errors in my grammar? Please give me some feedback in the comments so that I'll know what to fix, but please don't flame me! Anyway, as always, please R&amp;R!<strong>


	3. The First Hunt

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Monster Hunter franchise. I do, however, own the plot of this story, or at least, most of it.**

* * *

><p><em><span>Chapter 3: The First Hunt<span>_

_"So," came the hellish whisper in my ear, "You believe that you humans are so great?" Turning towards the voice, I saw a large, two-horned beast. It let out a terrible screech, and I turned to flee its wrath. "Typical," it growled, "Humans are always claiming themselves to be the better races; hunting us down, killing our kind..."_

_"Disgusting," came another voice to my left, "All of you slay us. Do you not think that our feelings matter?" I looked at the voice's source, and saw a large, white dragon with two tusk-like fangs. "If you had never existed in the first place, perhaps our kind would not be almost dead."_

_I unsheathed my blade, and held it, trembling, in front of me, "L-leave me alone!" I screamed at the monstrous beings._

_"Why do you not leave _us _alone?" Came another voice from behind me. Turning, I saw a long, lava-coated leviathan. "Isn't it ironic?" It asked, "You, a hunter, being able to communicate with our kind?"_

_"Shut up!" I shouted, clamping my hands over my ears, "This is a dream!" I screamed at the three monsters, "This isn't real! It can't be!"_

_"This is no dream," said the two-horned wyvern, "This is all real. This is happening to you right now." It placed its head into the air, and scraped its horrible, talons against the ground. "Everything you see before you is real."_

_"No!" I screamed, "This can't be happening! I-I can't actually talk to monsters!"_

_"Maybe," growled the leviathan, "But you will. You will form the bridge between our kinds, whether it be now, or years into the future. But you will."_

* * *

><p>My eyes burst open with horror at the nightmare that I'd only just had. "How?" I whispered, "How can I be a bridge between humanity and monsters? I can't even help myself, much less the monsters that I fight..." I shook my head, and exited the house.<p>

The night sky was as dark as the depths of the ocean, but I knew that I couldn't return to my sleep. I yawned, but tried to fight off the drowsiness.

"Damn," I muttered, "Monsters expecting me to help them? I can't do anything like that. But, at the same time, I wish that I could." I shook my head, "If I could've saved any monsters that I've ever killed, I would, but... I'm useless."

Maybe a trip into Moga Woods would help me clear my mind? No, If I went there, I'd be hunting monsters, and that wasn't good for me at all.

Vail, Ray and I had returned from Moga Woods a couple of hours after nightfall, so we went straight into our lodging house so that we'd get some sleep for tomorrow. Of course, it didn't look like I'd be getting _any_ sleep tonight. I yawned, tired, but knew that nightmares awaited me in my sleep.

I wanted to return to the house, to fight off the nightmares, but I was too afraid. Vail and Ray looked at me like I was a hero, but what they don't know is that I'm a terrible hunter, afraid of killing monsters. I was a coward; weak, pathetic, I was nothing more than talk. Talk with the ability to feel monsters' emotions.

That leviathan had told me that I'd become a great asset to both sides. This, of course, was impossible. How could I help something that I couldn't speak to? That, when we spoke, gave me fear?

I'm not sure how I managed to return to the lodging house, or how I fell back into sleep, but, somehow, I was able to.

That night, I dreamt of nothing, for there was nothing for me to dream about.

* * *

><p>"Kev!" Shouted Ray, "C'mon Kev, wake up! We're going to help the chief's son gather the Resources to fix the base camp!"<p>

I didn't want to wake up. I knew that "Resources" was just another term for slaughtering monsters. But, at the same time, I couldn't refuse to hunt. It was in my blood, whether I liked it or not. I stood up, and left the lodging house, exiting into the village square, or circle, as it was circular.

"So," I asked, already knowing the answer, "What are Resources?" I knew what the answer would be, but I wanted to hear it for sure before I made assumptions.

"Resources are obtained whenever you kill a monster," replied the chief's son, "But the best monsters to get them from are carnivores! Those little buggers are rich in 'em."

Just as I thought, but what else should I expect with a job title like "monster hunter"?

"Carnivores like Jaggi like to hang around Area 6 of Moga Woods," continued the chief's son. "Hunt a few down, and you'll be able to completely fix up the base camp."

Vail smirked, "Jaggi are some of the weakest monsters out there!" She laughed, "It'll be easy to take down a few of them!" Her hands slid around the handle of her Great Sword. "Especially with one of these."

"Don't discount me, either!" Ray said, "Nothing, not even the Lagiacrus itself, can keep me from hunting down monsters!" He closed his eyes dreamily. "A Lagiacrus! Can you imagine! I find it kind of odd that it can use lightning attacks underwater without frying itself, but that's just the beauty of it!"

I just shrugged, "I'm not sure about this," I said, "Jaggi can be extremely dangerous when they're in packs. Maybe I should just stay behind and-"

"Stay behind?" Asked Ray, "Do you want to miss the chance to hunt down some monsters that fight back?"

"Well, actually..."

"Hey!" Shouted the chief's son, "Aren't you guys going to hunt some monsters?"

"Of course!" Vail shouted back, "C'mon, guys! Let's go!"

I didn't have time to explain to them my want to quit that job, but maybe it was a sign? I was too worried about that nightmare the other night, but maybe it was just that, a nightmare. Perhaps it had nothing to do with my job as a monster hunter. Maybe it was just stress.

Of course, for me, things don't always go that easily.

* * *

><p>Area 6 of Moga Woods is a nest for carnivores, and, looking at it now, I can see why. The ground is covered in soil, and many bones and small pits line the ground. On the southern side of the carnivores' nest was a large cliff, and carved into it were multiple small caverns. These likely serve as areas for Jaggi to sleep in.<p>

Next to me, I heard Vail unsheathe her Iron Sword, and, after about ten seconds of waiting, she leapt into the middle of the area, drawing the attention of every Jaggi around. Ray, too, leapt forward, his hammer out. The two of them stood, pummeling Jaggi as they leapt too close. One of the Jaggi jumped towards them, nipping Ray on his arm.

Ray cried out in pain, as blood dripped down his arm. In shock, I ran into the fight, taking out a Jaggi with my blade. I winced in pain as its last memories of fear crept into my mind. I turned and struck down another as it bit me on my leg. As blood flowed from my wound, the Jaggi's last fearful thought of its brethren and its mate came into my head, causing me to cry out in anger. Why was I killing these creatures? They'd not done me much harm, and their last fears hurt me more than any blade could.

As I struck down a third Jaggi, its hatred of my kind entered into me, and, at that moment, I let out a scream. I couldn't believe that I'd screamed that horribly, but I had, and that was when I saw, out of the corner of my eye, a Jaggi, rushing straight at me, and I turned and stabbed it again. Its emotions echoed in my mind, and, at that moment, I felt that I could've dropped dead, right then and there.

That would put an end to this misery.

* * *

><p><strong>There you have it, the third chapter of <em>Monster Hunter Tri Part One.<em>**

**Admittedly, it was kind of hard to write with the action scene. I'm not too good at those.**

**Also, the chapter seems like it comes to an abrupt end, but that will be explained in the next chapter.**

**Originally, Kev was just going to be a regular hunter, but I added the ability to communicate with monsters once I realized that him just being a hunter would make the story simply a copy of the offline mode.**

**The story _will_ follow the events of the offline mode, but with my own twists to it, such as Kev's nightmares. Also, the characters themselves add plot to the story, thereby making it mostly my own.**

**Anyway, please review so that I'll have your opinions of the story!**


	4. The Camp's Completion

**Well, I'm back. I'd like to thank the few of you who are actually reading this chapter right now. A lot of people who have read this story have given up on it after only the first or second chapters. So, to those of you who are reading this right now, may you keep hunting, and hunt well!**

**Thanks to King Rathalos and arcana06m21 for reviewing my last couple of chapters. To the two of you who actually reviewed, I give many, many thanks.**

**Another Note: At this current time, I'm holding a poll on my profile for your least favorite Monster Hunter Tri creature. The results will be read soon on another chapter, but I must have a good number of votes before I will close the poll, so it could stay there for months.**

**Anyway, please enjoy chapter four of _Monster Hunter Tri Part 1: Where Waters Meet_!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Monster Hunter Franchise. I do, however, own the characters, and at least part of the story.**

* * *

><p><em><span>Chapter 4: The Camp's Completion<span>_

"Hey! Kev!" Came an insistent voice in my ear, "Kev? C'mon, Kev! Wake up. Please?"

I couldn't move. I was in unbearable pain. Worst of all, though, I wasn't sure why. But, with all my strength, I was able to open my eyes, and look around. "Where... am I?" I croaked, my throat feeling dry and pained.

"Kev!" Ray shouted, through tears, "You're... you're awake! I... we were so worried about you! When that Jaggi closed its jaws around your neck, we..."

Vail looked over at me, "You've been unconscious for seven hours," she said, "We'd been hunting, and a Jaggi attacked you. If we hadn't been there, you'd be..." She broke off, and looked away. "Ha! To be almost killed by a Jaggi! Mom and Dad would've been very disappointed in you, Kev!"

If it hadn't been for the fact that I was bedridden and in horrible pain, I'd have gone over and smacked that smirk off of her face. As things were, though, I _was _bedridden, and I _was _in horrible pain. This, I couldn't deny. But, even so, she shouldn't have brought our parents up in this. It was something I'd rather forget.

Although, I guess that I _did_ owe it to her for my being here right now. I didn't like to admit it, though. Of course, if it wasn't for my abilities, I'd not have to worry about this. But, of course, I do.

"So," I asked, "What about the Jaggi? What happened?" I was quite curious as to whether the quest was successful or not.

"Well, what do you think?" Vail asked, "After you were attacked, we rushed you out of there, and we found our way back to the village. It's a miracle that they were able to ply some of those teeth out." She smirked, "But, honestly, it doesn't matter. After all, you slew three Jaggi, Ray slew seven, and I slew eight. I guess that means that we got enough resources for the reconstruction of the base camp, so I guess that's a plus."

I shrugged, "But, what about the Jaggi that attacked me?"

It was Ray's turn to smirk. He patted the handle of his hammer. "I killed it," he said, proudly, "We left it hanging on your neck to stop the bleeding, and it worked pretty well."

"But that's not the point right now," Vail said, "You need to rest. The base camp will take a while to be fully repaired, so you'll likely recover before it is."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, sitting up, "I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine." I winced, my neck still felt terrible. "I can still hunt."

"No, you can't," Vail said, angrily, "You can't hunt until you're completely recovered. Go back to sleep." She looked away, "I'll wake you up later."

There you have it; Vail is one of the bravest people I know, but she's also very kind and compassionate. When our parents vanished all those years ago, she turned down the offer for us to enter the orphanage, claiming that we could raise ourselves.

Well, it worked.

I knew that there was no point in arguing, so I laid back down on the bed, and fell asleep once more.

* * *

><p>I yawned as I stepped outside the lodging house. After three days of resting, my neck had finally healed. It was a relief, too, because the base camp had been repaired on that day.<p>

"So," asked the chief, "Feeling better, hunter?"

"Yeah," I said, "It's pretty nice to be back on my feet after such a long time of bed rest." I yawned, again, still tired.

"Well, that's nice to hear," he said, smiling, "I heard that you'd taken a bite to your neck, son."

"Well, it actually wasn't as severe as the doctor thought it was," I replied.

"It's good that you're back, kid," he said, "I'd been worryin' that your siblings would lose their brother to a Jaggi! What an embarrassing fate _that_ would be, considering your 'lineage'."

I froze, "You mean my parents, right?" I asked him.

"Your parents were some amazin' hunters, if I do say so," the chief replied, "They were two of the best monster hunters in the world, honestly."

"It's a tough legacy to live up to," I said. With my abilities, though, it was even tougher. Living up to the legacy of Cross the Swiftshot and Dray the Quickstrike was one of the most painful and dreadful things that I've had to do in my life. Not that I'd admit that to anyone, of course.

The chief nodded sagely, "I suppose that you're searching for your siblings, right?" He asked, "They're in Moga Woods with Junior fixin' up the base camp."

"Alright. Thanks, chief," I said, beginning to walk away, when I suddenly wanted to ask, "Uh, chief? That Jaggi that bit my neck, what did you do with it?" I was, actually, quite curious as to what happened to its corpse, myself.

"Well, you know dinner the other night?"

"Oh my God, you didn't..." I moaned, in horror, "It _bit_ me!"

"And you bit it back, right?" He laughed, seeing the terror on my face (it's kind of hard to eat what you talk to), "Oh, I'm just kidding," he said, "We crafted it into some charms to be sold at the outfitter. I mean, it's not like we're gonna waste materials from nature, right?"

I nodded dumbly, still shocked over that "joke" of his. I'm sensitive to that kind of stuff, and what about when I learn how to _talk _to monsters? I decided, right then and there, that I probably shouldn't use that BBQ spit that the chief's son gave me the other day.

"Well, I'll be seein' you, kid!" Shouted the chief as I began to walk away.

I walked into Moga Woods without a second thought, knowing that I couldn't hunt anything. As I stepped over the hill that separated the village from Area 1 (I'm not exactly sure why the hunting places are divided into areas, but I'm guessing that it's because, on a geographical scale, each of the areas can have different terrain, as well as different kinds of wildlife) I saw many small, four-legged monsters leaping around. These were Kelbi, and while they are herbivores, they are also very protective of their kind, and the males are known to ram potential threats with their long antlers.

I could tell that they felt threatened by me, and I sent them an emotion that showed that I meant them no harm. They seemed to understand, as they began to draw closer and started to feed on the grass around me. Feeling relieved, I began to move on, over the hill and a small path that overlooked the ocean, until I reached Area 3. From there, I ignored the peaceful Aptonoth and went straight for the base camp, where I knew Ray, Vail, and the chief's son were.

"Hey guys!" I shouted to them, as I walked into the base camp. I stopped, and took in the beauty of what had happened here. The tent had been replaced, and the bed inside stretched out so that the three of us could fit. The item box and delivery box had been completely repaired, and, from the look of it, polished. Even the dock, and the boat that floated beside it, had been fixed so perfectly, I wasn't even sure that there _was_ an earthquake here.

Vail looked over at me, "Well," she said, "Look who's back from the dead, eh?" She was grinning so wide that I thought her face might rip. Thankfully, it didn't.

"Yeah," I replied, "It's nice to be up and about again. You guys did a great job here."

"Thanks," Ray said, looking up from hammering one of the tent's pegs into the ground, "Too bad you couldn't help us out, though."

"I'm sorry," I said, sheepishly, "I should've been more careful."

"Well, while _you_ were recovering, _we've_ been working," Vail replied, "The chief wanted us to work on our underwater hunting skills, but we turned him down."

Ray grinned, "Vail made the excuse that we learned it from our parents," he said.

"Well, we did," I said, "Y'know, when we were... seven?"

"Exactly my point," Ray said, "We've all forgotten it by now, but whatever. We'll learn by doing, right?"

"Right," I replied, "So, what else has happened?" I asked.

"Well, let's see," Vail said, thinking, "Nothing, actually. We've been doing this for the past three days. If you'd have been here, we could've cut the time down a bit, I guess."

"Again, I'm sorry," I said, "When we get the chance, I'm getting myself a helmet."

"Ha! Sounds like a plan," Vail said.

I looked around again, "By the way," I said, "Where's the chief's son?"

"Junior? He went off looking for some more materials," Vail said, "He should be back soon."

"Materials?" I asked, "Isn't this place finished?"

"Almost," said Ray, "We're building a Jaggi statue in the center, just for the aesthetic feel."

"A Jaggi statue? We have _that _many Resources?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, we slew eighteen Jaggi altogether," Vail explained, "Turns out we only needed six."

"We used the rest of the Resources to get the bed and the tent expanded," Ray added, "The Jaggi statue was my idea. We're using iron ore for the body and earth crystals for the teeth."

"That sounds cool, but aren't you going a bit overboard here?"

"Well, we have the extra Resources, we may as well use them," replied Vail.

I shrugged, "Sounds good to me," I said, "But why aren't you out helping the chief's son find the iron?"

"We've been supervising the camp," Ray said, "We've been putting everything down so tightly that no earthquake can ruin all of our hard work."

"So," I said, "With the camp as it is, do you think we'll be able to take on quests soon?"

"Of course," answered Vail, "As soon as we get the chance, we'll be going on Guild missions, and then we'll become just as great as Mom and Dad were. Are, I mean. Are." Although Vail tried to believe that Mom and Dad were still alive, we all knew that there was no chance that they could still be.

At that moment, the chief's son walked back into camp, holding a sack of iron ore and earth crystals. "I hope this is enough," he said, "It was tough mining all of this. Area 4 was swarming with Bnahabra and Giggi. It was tough to mine anything around there." He grimaced, "One of those Giggi took a leap at me. Good thing I noticed it in time."

"Well, thanks," said Vail, "This is definitely enough to build that statue, and probably enough to upgrade our armor, too."

I shook my head, "Shouldn't _you guys _have been the ones going mining? I mean, you _are _the hunters."

The chief's son looked over at me. "Well," he said, "I know my way around these woods the best, right? It makes more sense for me to go looking for materials." He looked over the base camp, "But, I have to admit, you guys did a pretty good job with this place. If the whole monster hunting job doesn't work out, maybe you can get a job fixing up ruined base camps."

Vail looked proud. "Thanks!" She said, "We really appreciate it. Well, not Kev, of course. He wasn't even here."

"Hey, go easy on him!" Said the chief's son, "It's not _his_ fault he was bitten by a Jaggi. Course, it _was_ pretty careless, especially for the son of two of the greatest hunters out there."

I couldn't tell them, of course, but I think it _was _my fault for getting attacked. Only seconds before darkness took me, I'd thought that death would be a welcome alternative to killing the Jaggi. Perhaps-and this is just a theory-my thoughts, my _emotions_, reached the Jaggi that attacked me, prompting it to do so. Maybe it had actually tried to help me.

I shook my head, trying to clear it of these thoughts. They were of no help to me.

"Hey, Kev! Hello!" Ray said, "What do you think?"

"Think?" I asked stupidly, "Think of what?"

Vail sighed, "Great. He's been daydreaming again."

"What kind of Jaggi should the statue depict?" Ray asked, "A Jaggi, a Jaggia, or a Great Jaggi?"

"Oh, uh, do we have the necessary items to craft a Great Jaggi?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Ray said, "By the way, did you know that Great Jaggi and Qurupeco are enemies?"

"Really?" Vail asked, looking over, "You don't say." She smoothed out the Qurupeco Mail that she always wore. A memento from her first hunt.

"Yeah, they're always competing over space," continued Ray, "Ironically, they both live in the exact same habitats. The Sandy Plains and the Deserted Island."

"C'mon," I said, trying to bring the conversation back to the matter at hand, "We need to start crafting this statue."

* * *

><p>After around five hours of hard work, we'd finally managed to finish crafting the Great Jaggi statue. It seemed almost perfect, down to every last detail.<p>

"Wow," I said, "It looks just like the real thing."

"I sure hope so!" Ray exclaimed, "I've been reading over our parents' monster books every single night. How do you think I get so knowledgeable about them?" He smiled, as he always did before he went off into one of his obsession phases, "I've heard that, on rare occasions, you can carve an extremely valuable stone called a "Bird Wyvern Stone" out of Great Jaggi. Imagine! Such a stone would have unsurpassed beauty! And what you could forge with it!"

I sighed. Ray, when in one of his obsession phases, could take hours to return to normal. Sometimes, it was extremely irritating. And when he started going on about equipment that could be forged, it made me want to just quit being a monster hunter then and there. Of course, I never did quit, but I sometimes felt like I should've.

Especially when I killed a monster.

But anyway, we knew that, with the camp all cleaned up and fixed, we could all start going on Guild missions as early as the next day. So, we headed back towards the village, looking forward to the day to come.

Well, Ray and Vail were, at least. I wasn't too sure about myself. After all, hunting down the monsters would be easy for them. For me, it was almost impossible.

It was difficult for me to sleep that night, for the thought of more killing was hard for me. The thought of ending the life of monsters that did me little to no harm. The thought of hunting them down for the amusement of the selfish, who would wear their skins with pride. The thought of killing a seemingly endless amount of creatures because of the spite of others. The thought, the remembrance, of the emotions of those Jaggi, worrying for their brethren.

And, above all, their hatred of me.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that was chapter four of <em>Monster Hunter Tri Part 1.<em> Hope that you enjoyed it.**

**As I said at the beginning, I thank you very much for reading this, because most readers seem to pass it off as just a copy of Monster Hunter Tri's offline mode. Heck, if you even read this far, you have my thanks, because I'll bet that some readers left in the middle of the chapter.**

**Note: The first couple of quests will happen in the next chapter.**

**Anyway, please review! Reviewing this story will let me know what to fix, whether the plot seems decent, and whether the characters are good, personality-wise.**

**Once more, thanks for reading this story, and may you stick around to read the rest of it, too!**


	5. Mushroom Hunting

**After a while of waiting, here's the fifth chapter of _Monster Hunter Tri Part I_! I'm sorry that I haven't been publishing a lot. I've been kinda busy. _**

**Don't expect many updates for a while, because school is just around the corner.**

**So, yeah, please enjoy the fifth chapter!**

**Note: Since writing a chapter about collecting mushrooms is extremely boring, I decided to add my own little twist to it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and probably will not ever own the Monster Hunter franchise. All rights go to Capcom.**

* * *

><p><em><span>Chapter 5: Mushroom Hunting<span>_

_I opened my eyes, and looked around the small chamber. I'd been here once before, I remembered, and here I was again._

_"We meet again, hunter," said a voice from behind me. I turned towards it, and saw the two-horned wyvern. "You seem a bit apprehensive. Of course, you should be."_

_I looked into its face, and that's when I realized, "You're a Diablos," I said, in shock. The Diablos was renowned as one of the most dangerous monsters alive, and here one stood in front of me._

_"So I am," said the Diablos, "And you are human. A hunter." It stared at me with its dark eyes, directly beneath its horns. "You destroy our kind. You believe yourselves to be superior to us. Is this not true?"_

_I shook my head, "Not all hunters think like that," I answered it, "Some of us hunt for fun, for sport. Some of us hunt to live. After all, humans are an ignorant species. We kill because we fear."_

_"Well spoken," said the Diablos, "And all of us here know that you, at least, don't wish to hunt us. So, why do you?"_

_"I don't know," I answered simply._

_"You don't know?" Asked the spiteful voice of the tusked wyvern._

_I turned towards the voice, coming face-to-face with the Barioth, "If I knew why I hunted, then I wouldn't. I'd fix the problem."_

_"The problem is your existence," the Barioth hissed._

_"Have you ever thought that the problem may be you?" I heard myself say, "Some of us hunt because your kind hunts us. You attack us first. So, why should we hold back? So that we can die?"_

_The Barioth glared at me, "It would be better that way. Even we must feed."_

_"Well, who gave you the right to be so high and mighty?" I shouted, "You need to feed? We do too! You, all of you, act as though we commit a crime in killing you, but you kill us ten times over! You kill hundreds!"_

_"And there are hundreds more," stated the Barioth._

_"Enough, Barioth," growled the voice of the leviathan, "He is correct, of course, we treat them like murderers, while we kill as well. We act foolishly. Like hypocrites."_

_"So, now you take their side, Agnaktor?" Growled the Barioth, "And here I thought you would be the most reasonable one among us," it turned away. "Humans have killed us, almost to extinction. They treat us with cruelty, like demons that deserve to be blotted out."_

_"I'm taking no sides," replied the Agnaktor, "Neither is Diablos. The only one taking sides here is you, Barioth."_

_"Hah!" Laughed the Barioth, "I can tell that one day, he'll be wearing some poor Barioth's pelt with pride!"_

_"Of course," said the Diablos, "He _is _one of the only five remaining. It would make sense. And if he wears the armor of a Barioth, you should be happy. It means that your kind would finally have a companion, Barioth."_

_"Perhaps," said the Barioth, thoughtfully, "But to him? He can't even kill a _Jaggi _without getting almost killed! I'd be ashamed for one of my kind to get stuck with _him_!"_

_"What are you talking about?" I asked._

_The Diablos looked over, "It does not concern you at this time," it said, "In time, you will learn, but for now, it means nothing."_

_I looked away, angrily. I knew exactly what that meant. It meant that they thought it was too important to explain to a child. That I'd have to wait until, at last, I learned of it myself._

_The Agnaktor looked over, "You shouldn't feel such anger. Anger will not help you in the quests to come."_

_I groaned. It was right; anger would do nothing for me. It would only get me killed._

_But that begged the question: what can I do to hunt? I couldn't kill the monsters. That would make me feel all of their emotions. I couldn't let them live, or I'd end up getting _myself _killed, like I almost did only a few days ago._

_"The answer is simple," the Diablos said, "You need to not allow the thoughts of the monsters to enter your mind. You need to remind yourself that they're trying to kill you. That, if you give them a chance, they'll tear your throat out."_

_I nodded weakly. It was, honestly, annoying to have monsters that could feel your emotions. But they were right. Even a second of hesitation would mean death. It was hunt or be hunted. Eat or be eaten. Life or death._

_"That's right," said the Agnaktor, approvingly, "You must hunt if you want to survive. If you don't fight, then you're as good as dead."_

_"But the day comes," said the Diablos, "Soon, you shall awaken. When you do, you must take our words to heart, and use them on your quests."_

_I nodded, "I will," I said._

_"Good," the Diablos said, nodding. With that, it faded away._

_"Soon," said the Agnaktor, "You will have to fight. Make sure that you do not get bitten by a Jaggi again." It's face twisted into what could've been a smirk. It, too, vanished._

_The Barioth looked over, "Prove yourself different from the others," it said, "And I just might trust you as well." It disappeared as well._

_I stood alone, in the chamber, as I began to feel myself vanish into the darkness._

* * *

><p>"Good morning!" Came a cheerful voice as Vail bounded into the room.<p>

"Well!" I said, smirking, "You sure look happy!"

"Of course!" Vail replied, much happier than usual, "Today's the day we start out on our first quest!"

"Well, what is it?" I asked, getting down from the bed.

Vail looked away, "Well... I'm not sure about that, yet."

"Really? Isn't the representative of the Guild here, yet?" I asked, "I mean, you'd think that they'd be here by now, right?"

Vail looked sheepish, "Well..."

"Guys! Guys!" Ray shouted, running into the room, "She's here! The Guild representative is here!"

"Really?" Vail shrieked, overjoyed.

Here, you have an example of just how obsessed Vail and Ray are with monster hunting. Vail often freaks out whenever we get the chance to go hunting, and Ray's already shown just how _he _acts if you even say the words "big monster".

Well, I guess it runs in the family.

"So?" Asked Vail, excitedly, "What's she like?"

"She's pretty nice," Ray said, "She wants us to call her the 'Guild Sweetheart'. I'm not sure why, but she sure seems kind and friendly." I noticed that he was blushing slightly. "Actually, she doesn't seem to be that much older than us."

"Really?" I asked, "I can't believe that the Guild would hire people so young."

"Well, that's not the point!" Ray said, "The point is that we're gonna be going on our first quest!"

"Our first quest," I said, "So, uh, what is it?"

At this, Ray looked away, "Well, um, I never learned."

"Well, no time like the present!" Vail said, "C'mon, let's go and find out just what our first quest is gonna be!"

"Hang on," I said. I went over to my bed, and picked my helmet-a Chainmail Helmet-off the item box beside it. I stuck it on, and tightened it. "Alright," I said, "Let's do this!"

Yeah, I actually _did _get the helmet. It fit pretty well, and it covered my ears slightly so Ray's constant talking wasn't so bad. All in all, I could really get used to it.

We left the lodging house and made our way over to the receptionist's desk. Ray was right; the girl working here _was _young. She seemed to be only sixteen or seventeen, like Vail. She had long brown hair which was covered by a green hat. From what I could tell, this was part of the Guild's uniforms.

"Hey there, hunters!" She said, cheerfully, "I got the mission from the Guild! If you can complete this quest, then I'm sure that your reputation will skyrocket!"

"Really?" Ray asked, "Does that mean that it's a big monster mission? Like a Barioth? Or an Uragaan? Or are we going straight to the Lagiacrus?"

"Um... actually, it's just a theory," the Guild Sweetheart said, "But that aside, let's see what your first mission is! Drum roll, please!" She pulled out a piece of paper, and stared in shock.

"Well?" Asked Vail, "What's our first mission?"

"Your first mission from the Guild is to collect mushrooms," she said, "But, uh, everybody's gotta start somewhere... right?"

Ray and Vail stood there agape. "Gathering mushrooms?" Ray said, angrily, "Does the Guild not trust us at all?"

"Hey!" Said the Guild Sweetheart, "That's what _I_ was thinking! I mean, how could they give you such a weak mission?" She shrugged, "Oh well, gripety-gripe. Maybe they'll actually give you guys _missions _if you get this one done."

I let out a sigh of relief. At least, this way, I wouldn't have to kill any monsters.

"Fine," Vail said, "Let's get going on this 'quest' and maybe the Guild'll send us some missions that involve actually hunting monsters. Because, you know, that's what I signed up for when I took this job."

"Okay, okay!" The Guild Sweetheart said, "No need to get all grumpy and angry! Just get this quest done, and then you'll be all set to hunt some dangerous creatures! You know, no pressure or anything. But, anyway, just head over to the dock, and take the boat to the Deserted Island!"

We walked over to the small boat, Vail in rage, Ray in sorrow, and me? I was secretly happy.

After a long, uncomfortable ride, we found ourselves in the base camp of Moga Woods.

"Wait, what?" Ray said, "I thought that we were going to the Deserted Island! This is Moga Woods!"

"I guess that they're one and the same," I said, going over to the item box. I fished out a bottle containing three servings of First-Aid Med, and a box with three Rations, two mini-whetstones, and a map.

"Wow," I said, "I thought it would all be jumbled in there."

Ray smiled, "Vail and I came up with the idea that it would be better for us to have everything in a convenient space."

Vail sighed, "Well, even though that worked, we're still looking for _mushrooms_."

"Yeah," I said, "It seems that we need to find five 'unique mushrooms'."

"How are we supposed to know what a unique mushroom looks like?" Vail complained, "All mushrooms look unique to me!"

"Well," I said, pulling the quest paper out, "According to this, unique mushrooms are much bigger than regular mushrooms."

By now, we'd walked into Area 1, and saw a log covered with mushrooms of various shapes and sizes.

"Okay," I said, "So, we just need five unique mushrooms, and we'll be set." Seeing the disappointment on Ray and Vail's faces, though, gave me another idea. "Actually," I said, "Why don't we make this more interesting?"

"More interesting?" Vail said, sarcastically, "Yes, because picking mushrooms is _very _interesting."

I ignored her, "Let's turn this into a contest," I said, "We'll split the reward based on how well we do."

"A contest!" Ray exclaimed, "That's a great idea! It'll liven up this boring quest, that's for sure!"

"Okay," I said, "Here are the rules: we each have thirty minutes to collect mushrooms. Each type of mushroom listed here will have a certain amount of points." I stopped, and looked up at them, "Unique mushrooms will be worth one-hundred points, ripened mushrooms will be worth two-hundred points, and choice mushrooms will be worth three-hundred points. The one with the most points at the end wins."

"But, how will we split the money?" Vail asked, "This quest's worth only one-thousand zenny."

"The winner," I answered, "Will get five-hundred zenny, second place will get three-hundred zenny, and last place will earn two-hundred zenny." I had to admit, this was actually a good idea. It would help Ray and Vail enjoy this quest, if only a little.

"So, everyone walks away a winner," Ray said, smiling, "I like those rules, Kev. This'll actually be pretty fun!" He placed his right hand-his dominant hand-on the hammer, "To get ripened mushrooms, after all, you need to kill Altaroth."

I nodded towards him. I knew this, of course, but I also took the words of the Diablos to heart. _You need to remind yourself that they're trying to kill you. That, if you give them a chance, they'll tear your throat out. _This was true. If I so much as showed even the slightest sign of weakness, I would be as good as dead.

Vail grinned, "So," she said, "I guess, in a way, we really _are _hunting monsters!"

I looked over at her, "Well, I guess. But for now, let's start hunting for mushrooms," I said.

We stared at each other one last time, before we began running to find the fungi.

I went towards Area 3. There, as I knew from the other day in Moga Woods, were multiple logs covered in mushrooms, as well as Altaroth that absorbed the fungi into themselves.

I reached down towards one of the logs, seeing at least three unique mushrooms and what could possibly be a choice mushroom. I pulled them free, and looked over them. As I thought, there were three unique mushrooms, and a choice mushroom on the log. Right there, I had six-hundred points.

That was only the beginning. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw yet another log covered in mushrooms. I walked towards it, and casually pulled a unique mushroom off. That was the only one of the fungi that I could find on the log.

It was weird, but I was really getting into this. Of course, I _did _want that five-hundred zenny. I grimaced. To think that I would become a victim of greed! After all, I really wanted to finish up the contest so that we could return to the village.

It'd taken me around seven minutes to walk here, to the end of Area 3, and it would take me another seven to walk back. I'd also spent close to five minutes hunting for these mushrooms. I figured that I'd probably have around ten minutes left to go mushroom hunting.

There were no other logs in Area 3, so I just started running back to Area 2, where I was sure I'd find other mushrooms.

After another seven or eight minutes of running, I found myself standing in Area 2. Looking over, I saw Ray, collecting mushrooms from one of the logs. An Altaroth moved in to attack him, but he quickly slew it, and took the ripened mushroom from its abdomen.

Then, I saw Vail returning with mushrooms in her arms. She smirked over at me and Ray. The kind of "I've won and there's nothing you can do about it" smirk.

I could tell from their faces that they were ready for judging. Ray placed his prizes on the ground. From what I could tell, he had two ripened mushrooms and two unique mushrooms. Vail came next, putting three unique mushrooms, one choice mushroom, and one ripened mushroom on the ground. I put my four unique mushrooms and my choice mushroom on the ground, as Vail looked at me with a gleam in her eyes.

"Well," I said, "Looks like you've won, Vail!'

"Was there any doubt?" She asked, smirking cockily.

Ray sighed, "Well," he said, "Looks like I've lost. But that doesn't matter! Because we'll hunt bigger monsters! Like Rathalos! And Rathian! And Gigginox!" He started to babble on and on about monsters, and Vail looked at me with concern.

I patted the helmet, "This helps block out some of the sound," I said, smirking, "You're on your own, Vail!"

She groaned, and we gathered up our mushrooms. In order to divide it evenly among us, Ray and I each placed two unique mushrooms in, and Vail placed one.

As the three of us boarded the ship, we talked about how the mission went. Vail told us of how she was attacked by an Altaroth that nearly cut her head off, and showed us the wound at the base of her neck. Ray showed where a Jaggi had bit him on his arm. I had no wounds to show them.

When the boat returned to the village, the three of us were greeted by the Guild Sweetheart, who gave us our pay of one-thousand zenny. As promised, we divided it among the three of us, with Vail getting five-hundred, me getting three-hundred, and Ray getting two-hundred.

"So," she asked, after we'd split the money, "How was it?" She was looking at us imploringly, praying that we'd say what she hoped we'd say.

"It wasn't too bad," Ray answered, smiling, "Kev found a way to make this quest... fun."

"Really?" Asked the Guild Sweetheart, brushing sweat off her brow, "That's a relief. For a second there, I'd thought that you'd all _hate_ that quest!" She smiled, "It's great, though, because the Guild'll probably give you some better quests when they hear of your latest exploits!"

I nodded. "Yeah," I said, "We'll actually be hunting down some monsters soon!"

"Like a Barroth? Hey, did you know that they're herbivores? It's strange but true. See, they eat Altaroth who've absorbed mushrooms and other plants inside them and they..."

"Ray?" Vail asked.

"Yeah?" He said, looking at her.

"Please shut up. You're ruining what should be a great time for us."

"Oh, sorry."

I sighed. "Well," I said, "Let's call it quits for today. We've completed a quest, had some fun, made some money... I'd say we've had a great day, don't you?"

Vail nodded, "And to think!" She said, smiling, "We'll be hunting down monsters tomorrow! Isn't that exciting?" She turned towards Ray and I.

"Well," I said, "What do you think we'll wind up hunting?"

Vail shrugged, "Who knows?" She asked, "Could be Jaggi, could be Aptonoth, it could even be Kelbi."

"Let's hope that it's the former rather than the latter," I said, "I think Jaggi would make for a better hunt than Kelbi and Aptonoth, don't you?" It was surprising hearing myself say this. After all, I'm the one with the ability to feel monsters' emotions.

"Yeah," said Vail, smirking, "Remember the _last_ time you hunted Jaggi?"

I winced, and put my hand to my neck. "Things change," I muttered, "Some of us become stronger, while some become weaker." I tightened the helmet. "I'm pretty sure that I've grown stronger," I said.

"You're pretty sure?" Asked Ray, "So were those hunters who went after Elder Dragons. Many of _them_ didn't come back alive. But, if you think about it, Elder Dragons are truly amazing crea-"

"Don't even finish that sentence," growled Vail, "What did I tell you only thirty seconds ago?"

Ray looked away, sheepishly, "Sorry," he muttered.

"Anyway," I said, "We should probably head inside, and go to sleep."

Ray looked up, "But what about dinner?" He asked, "We can't hunt on an empty stomach!"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Vail said, smirking, "I'll go in and start something right away."

Ray and I stopped cold. Vail was notorious for her awful cooking. Often, the two of us would have to forge for ourselves.

In our family, Ray was the best cook. He could make even the most unappealing food taste fantastic, provided he had the right ingredients. This was another hobby of his, next to studying large monsters. It didn't even come close, though, to _that_ obsession.

* * *

><p>That night, we dined on fresh Kelbi meat, carved by Ray during the quest, and blue mushrooms. It was actually really good, to be said. I'll never understand how anyone could make monster flesh that well seasoned.<p>

"Would you like some more Firedouse Powder?" He asked, pointing to the bottle.

I shook my head. Firedouse Powder, the finely crushed form of the Firedouse Berry, was known to be extremely spicy. It certainly lived up to its fame, and only two shakes had caused my Kelbi steak to be almost painful.

"How about you, Vail?" He asked, turning towards her, "Want some?"

She, too, shook her head. Ray shrugged, and shook some more onto his meat.

"Honestly," I said, "I'll never understand how you cook so well, Ray."

He grinned, pleased by the compliment. "Well," he said, "I just do what I can to make this food great."

We finished the meal in silence, and headed to bed. As I laid down under the covers, staring out over the ocean, I began to wonder: who are truly the evil ones? The hunters? The monsters? Or perhaps neither?

I turned this thought over in my head, until, at last, sleep overtook me.

* * *

><p><strong>There you have it, the fifth chapter of <em>Monster Hunter Tri Part I<em>!**

**Originally, the chapter wasn't going to have any kind of contest, and it was just gonna end quickly. I wanted to make it better, though, so I added the contest in.**

**As another note, while the quest's price is five-hundred zenny, I figured that it would make more sense for it to be worth one-thousand, since there are three people. So, as you should know, most of the quests are going to be worth at least twice as much zenny as normally.**

**Like I said, the next chapter probably won't be for a while, as I'm working on another fanfiction right now.**

**Please review, though, and give me some feedback!**


End file.
